Known as the "King of Fruits", durian is admired for its unique taste. The ripe flesh of the durian is truly delicious but can perhaps best be enjoyed when mixed with glutinous rice and coconut milk. Durian is grown in abundance in the East and South, and although there are many different varieties, Morn Thong , Kan Yao and Chanee are the most famous. The best durian are from the orchards of the Eastern provinces of Thailand namely Rayong, Trat, Prachin Buri, Chanthaburi, Surat and Chumphon in southern Thailand.

The fruit is stalked, pendulous, and round to oblong with large thorns on the skin. The fruit is a capsule that is split into 3 to 5 segments. Each segment contains l to 5 seeds, each of which is embedded in a sweet, aromatic and rich creamy pulp (aril) with a creamy yellow to golden yellow color. It is also known for its strong and pungent odour, which can be offensive and nauseating to some people.

The food energy of 100 g of durian pulp is about 156 kilocalories. The (2.9 g), fat (3.8 g), (49 mg), 2 mg depending on varieties, and is comparable to grapefruit. About 8 kinds of amino acid, including methionine and lysine are contained in 100 g of durian pulp. In Thailand , durian is one of the fruits with the highest export value. Besides consumption as a fresh fruit, durian is also processed into various products such as chips, French fries, sugary cakes, candies and a flavoring powder in ice cream, biscuits, and others including a main ingredient of Thai cuisine recipes.

Usage

 Eaten fresh, frozen.
 Make cakes, ice-cream.

Nutrition

Durian is probably one of the most nutritious fresh fruit.
High in energy, protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, Vitamin C and various minerals.

Storage

The pulp of half to near full ripe fruit is much less sensitive to chilling injury than the peel, and the pulp can be stored for 4 weeks at 5 °C (41 °F). Whole fruit stored at less than 15 °C (59 °F) develops chilling injury shown by the peel turning black or dark brown starting at the groove between the splints. Chill injured pulp suffer a loss of aroma, does not soften and may develop sunken areas on the surface.

Mature unripe durian : 10-15 days at 14-16 C 85-90% RH

Ripe durian (whole) : 7-14 days at 13-15 C 90-95% RH

Without refrigeration the ripened fruit has a shelf life of only 2-5 days. The pulp can be refrigerated up to 7 days in closed packaging or frozen.

Shelf life :

2 years in freezer

Storage :

Keep frozen at –18C ~ -22C

Frozen Durian (A whole fruit) and frozen durian Puree

If the durian or the flesh without the seeds are stored under minus 18°C, they will continue to remain fresh for years. For overseas shipments, the fruits would have to be ferried in ships as they needed to be stored in cold storage containers.

Shelf life :

2 years

Storage :

Keep frozen at –18C ~ -22C

Season

Availability : year round
Peak period: Apr. - Aug.

Packaging

Fresh Durian : ( A whole fruit)

For exportation:. The packaging of durian depends on the requirements of the destination. Durian exported to Hong Kong, Taiwan and China are fastidiously packed in a corrugated carton with 10-12 Kgs. Capacity. Each box contains 3 - 4 fruits. A bigger box with a capacity of 6-8 fruits is also used to reduce packaging cost. For durians exported to Malaysia and Singapore , wooden crates are used by some Thai exporters. These are much cheaper than a paper box. The wooden crates come in different sizes ranging from 10-30 kgs. capacity and holding between 4-15 fruits each.